Butter cutting and packaging machine



April 21, 1964 s, REDMQND 3,129,546

BUTTER CUTTING AND PACKAGING MACHINE Filed April 28, 1961 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 INV' TOR. 54 F f I EDNCIVD BY v A TTORNEY April 21, 1964 s ND 3,129,546

14 7' TOR/V5 Y INVENTOR. JAN/WED AtOMO/ O April 21, 1964 s. REDMOND 3,129,546

BUTTER CUTTING AND PACKAGING MACHINE Filed April 28, 1961 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 A93 -F/6.4 if f 98 1 u. I LE l l ,1

INVENTOR. SANFORD REDHO/Vb ATTORNEY April 21, 1964 s. REDMOND 3,129,546

BUTTER CUTTING AND PACKAGING MACHINE Filed April 28, 1961 8 SheetsSheet 4 INVEN TOR. lZ/ JAM-0,90 RAD/10,90

ATTORNEY April 21, 1964 s. REDMOND BUTTER CUTTING AND PACKAGING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 28, 1961 INVENTOR SANFORD IPEOMOA/D ATTbR EY April 21, 1964 s. REDMOND 3,129,546

BUTTER CUTTING AND PACKAGING MACHINE Filed April 28, 1961 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR J14 /V F 0190 RIONOND NMW ATTORNEY A ril 21, 1964 s. REDMOND 3,129,546

BUTTER CUTTING AND PACKAGING MACHINE Filed April 28, 1961 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 W" l M I L L 'I". L...

r l O INVENTOR SANFORD IPFDMO/VO 203 BY ffi /77 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,129,546 BUTTER CUTTING AND PACKAGING MACHINE Sanford Redmond, New York, N.Y., assignor to B. Redmond 8.: Son, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 28, 1961, Ser. No. 106,304 16 Claims. (Cl. 53-122) This invention relates to the segmentation of any plastic or moldable material, the separation of said segments into individual packaged units and the grouping of a number of said units in a larger package for handling purposes. For the purposes of explanation and description the material will be referred to as butter, but any material of similar moldability may be similarly handled. Ground meat, cheese, margarine and jams are a few examples.

An object of the invention is to provide an individual portion which the ultimate user receives in a sanitary, protected condition.

A further object of the invention is to produce individual pats or portions, placed on individual trays, embossed, covered when necessary, and stacked with a number of similar units for further packaging when required.

A still further object is to provide in such a machine means to cut and form the trays, cut or form the prodnot, cut and position the parchment cover, and perform the entire operation at a high rate of speed.

ther objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds. It will also be apparent that the various features of the molding means are of important use and value, independent of the packaging.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a finished pat on its serving tray with an appropriate cover.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspected view of one form of an entire machine.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevation, partly in section, of a portion of the machine which does cutting and packaging.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing the cutting mechanism just before a segment is cut and embossed.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the cutting and embossing of the segment as it is placed on the tray.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation showing a strip of material being cut from a slab.

FIG. 7 is a view showing the cut strip located on the conveyor.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of a variation of the machine.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another fully automatic variation of the machine for producing the same results.

FIG. 10 is a view partly in section of the feed mechanism and pat forming the drum.

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 1111 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a top plan view partly in cross section of the mechanism shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 1313 of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a section showing the action of the wire in transferring butter from plunger to the card.

FIG. 15 shows an alternate method of removing a pat from the face of the plunger.

FIG. 16 shows a card carrying clip.

In FIG. 1 the finished packaged product is shown comprising a unit designated as 11), and including the cardboard tray 11 scored at 12 to form upwardly extending tabs 16 and 17 for handling purposes. The segment or pat of butter 14 is covered by the parchment paper 15 so that when the package 16 is removed from its con- "ice tainer, the butter is completely protected and is not touched by human hands.

The machine 20 is powered by a motor 21 which operates the pulley 22 by means of a belt 23 and causes the rotation of the shaft 24 and suitable gear trains and belts to power the entire machine. The butter is fed into the machine at one end 25 and the finished product is delivered through the guide 26 to the trough 27 from which it is transferred to a suitable carton. This action is accomplished by a reciprocating pusher 28 operated by an eccentric slide (scotch yoke) and the rotating pins 299.

At the end 25 of the machine 20 I provide a conveyor 31) having a plurality of bars 31 and which is moved by the chain 32 on the sprocket 33 mounted on the shaft 34, which in turn is driven by the worm wheel 35 engaged by the worm 36 and activated by the cam, rocker arm and connecting rods 37.

A slab of butter 40 is placed on the conveyor 30 and is fed downwardly under a slab holding bar 41. A shaft 43 is provided and carries the cutting wire arms 44 and 45. The arms 44 and 45 carry a cutting Wire 46 which cuts a strip of butter through 50 as the arms 44 and 45 move the wire 46 through the slab 4d. The shaft 43 is actuated by the arm 47 mounted thereon engaging the arm 48. This action is controlled by a photo-electric cell 51 energized by a light source 49 through the tube 52 mounted in the block 53, which in turn is mounted on the heating and support plate 42 which engages the heater 54.

The intermittent action is controlled by the clutch 56 actuated by solenoid controlled by the photo-electric cell 51. As a strip of butter 50 is cut from the slab 40, it falls by gravity on the rollers 63 mounted on the arms 64 of the conveyor belt 60, and across the beam of light from the light source 49 to the photo-electric cell 51 stopping the action of the feeding mechanism. As soon as the strip 50 has cleared the beam of light, the cell 51 is reactivated, the slab moves downwardly and another strip is cut to follow immediately the one before it, so that the strip of butter on the conveyor is continuous.

It will be appreciated that the heater 54 and the heating plate 42 make the feeding action more even and accurate, and allows the strip to release from the plate and fall onto the rollers 63.

At the end of the conveyor is a second conveyor belt 65 which picks up the strips 50 and moves them forward under the roller 59 at a much slower rate than conveyor 60 allowing each subsequent strip to butt against its predecessor and to the laterally mounted belts 66 powered by the gear train 67. The belts are springy in nature and feed the strip over the cards between the card guides 94.

A card or tray conveyor is mounted below the guides 94 and is provided with carriers 81 having spring clips 82. The conveyor 80 is poured by the sprockets 83 and 84. This conveyor moves at a greater speed than the conveyor 66, to allow for space between the cardboard trays.

A cardboard supply roll feeds cardboard 85 from the roll 86 over the rollers in between the powered feeding rollers 87 which feed the cardboard under a cutting knife 88 where it is cut into individual trays and advanced through rollers to be picked up by clips 82 and advanced through scoring rolls 91 to make score lines 12 in each individual card. Each card is then fed up under the guide 93 and then under guides 94. During this movement each card is held in position by a clip 82 on the carriers 81. The edges are turned up by folders 210 along the scored lines 12.

As the strip of butter 50 is advanced by the conveyors 3 66 a tray 11 is fed under it (see FIGS. 4 and 5), a combined cutter and embosser 95 carrying the cutting blade 96 cuts the strip so into individual pats 1 1 and simultaneously accelerates forward to the speed of conveyor 30, and at the same time the embosser 97 impresses an appropriate design on the surface of the butter and presse it to the surface of the card.

The combined cutter and embosser 95 is mounted eccentrically on discs 1% and 1% and driven by the pinion 101. The combined cutter and embosser is engaged by pins 1% which are offset to give the cutter and embosser a circular movement, while maintaining them constantly vertical. As the discs 1% and 103 are driven by the pinion 101, the cutter and embosser move in such a manner as to cut off a pat, accelerate it forward, compress it to the card beneath it, withdraw upwardly away from the pat and return through its original path for another cutting and embossing operation. It will be understood that While the embosser is a highly desirable feature, it is not essential to the operation of the machine.

Paper 119, preferably of the parchment type, is fed from the supply roll 111 between the rolls 112 and 114 under the cutting roller 115 carrying the blade 11-6 and rotated by the shaft 117. As the tray carrying the pat is fed along the conveyor -80 the paper is cut to size by the blade 116. The covered pat then passes under the floating roller 118 mounted in the block 119, pressing the paper to the pat.

The finished packaged pat is then carried up the chute 26 by rotating arms 2&9 into the trough 27 from where it is packed.

In FIG. 8 I have shown a modification in which the cardboard is continuously impaled on pins 121 and drawn through the machine, scored by rolls 91. All other functions remain the same, except that the cards are cut off by clipping wheels 124 and 125.

While I have shown a series of gear trains and driving shafts these may, of course, be varied as long as the tim ing of the respective operations, the respective conveyors, and the other mechanism is taken care of. The speed of the respective operations must be synchronized to allow for the spacing of the pats after they have been placed on their respective trays and are no longer a continuous strip or mass of butter.

It will also be appreciated that many modifications of the particular drive and control elements may be made. Sensitive contact switches may be used instead of the photo-electric cell, as well as many other variations.

As an example, an improved form of feeding and seg mentation having very accurate and complete controls and adjustments is shown in FIGS. 9 to 16.

In this form, the butter or other material to be processed is fed into the hopper 146* of the feed chamber 141 at one end 142 of the machine in bulk form. As the material is fed a triangular rotating member 143 compresses it into the chamber 141 where it is engaged by the rotating feed screw 145 and forced under pressure into and through the head 148 defining an extrusion nozzle 149.

The nozzle head 14% is hinged to the plate 150 by the hinge 151 and has a bracket 152 carrying an adjusting knob 153, which when in position extends from the plate 147 to position the frame 150. A supporting arm 154 extends from the frame 150 to the hub 158 which mounts the key clutch assembly controlled by the handle 155 on which a roller 162 is eccentrically mounted between the flanges 156 and 157.

The hub 158 carries a sprocket 159 driven by chain 160 from gears 161 and 163.

Attached to the nozzle head 148 are two similar brackets 175 and 175A by means of the bolts 1'76 and 176A. The brackets 1'75 and 175A carry the bushings 178 through which passes the flanged shaft 179 on which is mounted the drum 190.

The drum 190 comprises a rotating member containing a plurality of radial plungers 191. The inner end of each plunger is provided with a cam following roller 193 which travels between two cam tracks. The cam track assembly is divided into two parts, one stationary, and the other adjustable. The stationary or fixed part has an outer track 194 and an inner track 1%. The adjustable part has an outer track 193 and an inner track 197. The adjustable portion 1% is pivoted at 199 and may be adjusted as follows: Depending from the bracket 1755A is a member Zlitl through which extends the flanged threaded shaft 263 carrying at its outer end a knob 202. The inner end of the threaded shaft 2%3 is rotatably connected to a slider 2111 which through link 204 engages the pin 2% on the lower end of the adjustable cam portion 196. A locking screw 287 is provided to prevent the accidental rotation of the threaded shaft 203. It will be appreciated that by rotating the control wheel 202, the cam track may be moved and the depth of retraction of the plungers 191 within the drum changed thus changing the thickness and amount of product drawn from the nozzle.

In operation, butter or other moldable material is fed to the machine through the hopper into the feed chamber 14-1 and carried by the rotating screw feed to the extruding head and nozzle 143. It will be understood that the material will be under some pressure to pass through the nozzle. At the same time the drum is rotated in a counter clockwise direction. The inner face of the contact surface of the nozzle head 148 is gasketed with a resilient material such as Teflon at 168 to reduce friction, and act as a seal. As each plunger passes into the extrusion nozzle and passes the point 168A, it is slowly retracted by the action of its roller 193 following the track in 1%. The vacuum caused by the retraction of the plunger plus the pressure under which the product is maintained causes the resultant chamber formed in the drum to be substantially filled.

As rotation continues and after the chamber passes the point indicated by 1685 the plunger operation is taken over by the fixed cam, pushing the plunger outwardly and expelling the material onto the card tray which is moved into position at that instant on the conveyor 80, the movement of which is synchronized with the rotation of the drum. A wire supported by the arms 164 is provided to separate the material from the face of the plunger and to cause the material to conform to the surface of the card tray. This action is shown in FIGS. 10 and 14.

The relative position of the plunger in its respective cylinder or chamber varies in accordance with the position of the drum. As it passes into the wall of the nozzle 148, its face is flush with the drum. It then retracts during the time it is exposed to the product, the exact amount of retraction depending upon the setting of the control knob 292. Upon engaging the shoulder 169 of the cam track 195, it is pushed outwardly to a point slightly beyond the periphery of the drum and then retracted flush therewith prior to reentry at 168.

While the term cylinder is used generally to define a round object, it is used in this specification as defining a cavity or chamber having solid walls in which a piston or plunger of the same configuration moves in a reciprocating motion. In the practice of this invention, the shape of the cylinder and its cooperating plunger may vary depending upon the end product desired. In the drawings showing the production of individual servings of butter, the cross sectional shape of the pats is square.

In both modifications the finished package 10 is ejected up the chute into the trough 27 in a vertical position from which it is packed in cartons. This action is aided by rotating pins 209 and the reciprocating pusher 28 operated by an offset pin on the gear 29. The pins 209 operate at a greater rate of speed than the conveyor in order to remove the tray from the clip 82.

In FIG. 16 I have shown a variation in which the pat is at right angles to the pats shown in the other figures and is ejected sideways onto the tray from the drum.

Where a cardboard stock is used that is not quite up to standard there may be a tendency for the cardboard not to cut cleanly and to leave small particles on the carrier 80 under the clip 82. This can be overcome by forming a groove or grooves in the face of the carrier 80 under the clip 82. With this construction shown in FIG. 16 any such small particles are not held by the clips but are discharged.

It will be appreciated that because of the hinge 151, the nozzle 148 and the parts supported by it, including the brackets 175 and 175A and the drum 190 may be swung to one side to expose the inside thereof for cleaning purposes or for inspection. This exposes not only the inside of the nozzle but also the head 146.

I claim:

1. In a machine for segmenting plastic material and packaging the same, means for cutting the material into predetermined size strips, conveyor means for moving said strips at a predetermined rate, means for cutting and crimping cardboard into trays, means for moving said trays under said strip of material, means for cutting said material into segments and depositing each segment upon a tray, means for covering said segments with paper to form complete packages and means to assemble said packages.

2. In a machine for segmenting and packaging plastic material, means for producing predetermined sized strips of material, means for moving said strips at a predetermined rate, means for cutting and crimping cardboard into trays, means for moving said trays under said strips of material, means for cutting said strips of material into segments and transferring them to said trays, means for simultaneously embossing each of said segments and pressing it upon its tray, means for covering each of said segments with paper to form a complete package and means to assemble a number of said packages.

3. In a machine for segmenting and packaging butter, means feeding butter into the machine, cutting means to cut said butter into predetermined sized strips, means to cut, score, and crimp cardboard into individual trays, means to move said trays to a position under said strip of butter, means to cut said strip of butter into segments and transfer each segment to an individual tray and simultaneously emboss it, said means comprising a combined cutting and embossing head eccentrically mounted on a rotating member, a second rotating member, a bar eccentrically mounted on said second member at one of its ends and having its opposite end engaging said combined cutting and embossing head so that the peripheral speed of the combined head and cutter approximates the speed of the means upon which the trays and butter are traveling, means for covering each portion of butter to form a complete package and means to assemble a number of said packages for final packaging.

4. In a machine for packaging butter into individual portions, means for feeding butter into the machine, means intermittently cutting said butter into predetermined sized strips, conveyor means moving said strips at a predetermined rate, means for cutting, scoring and crimping cardboard into individual trays, conveyor means moving said trays under a strip of butter, means to out said strip of butter into individual portions and to transfer each of said portions to a tray as the trays are moved under said strip, means for covering each portion of butter to form a complete package and means to assemble a number of said packages.

5. In a machine for segmenting plastic material, means to form said material into individual segments, means for cutting and crimping cardboard from a roll into individual trays, said means including a rotating knife and a pair of scoring blades, a conveyor having carriers, spring clips on said carriers to engage one edge of a tray, means to place individual segments on an individual tray, said means comprising a revolving drum having chambers in its peripheral wall to receive said material and form it into segments, plungers in said chambers moveable to eject said segments as said conveyor passes under said drum and means to cover each segment to form a complete package.

6. In a machine for segmenting plastic material, means for feeding said plastic material to a segmenting device, said means including a hopper, a revolving screw feed, a feed chamber, an extrusion nozzle at one end of said chamber, means for forming said material into individual segments, said means comprising a revolving drum, said drum having defining chambers in its peripheral wall to receive said material and to form it into segments, plungers in said chambers to limit their depth and to eject said segments as the drum is revolved, a cam track controlling the movement of said plungers, means to cut and crimp cardboard from a roll into individual trays, said means including a rotating knife and a pair of scoring blades, a conveyor having carriers, spring clips on said carriers to engage one edge of a tray, means to move said conveyor so that a tray is under said drum as each segment is ejected therefrom to place each segment on an individual tray, means to cover each segment with a covering material such as paper to form a complete package, said means including a supply roll of covering material, rollers guiding the covering material over the conveyor carrying the tray and segment, a rotating knife cutting the covering material as each tray passes thereunder, roller means pressing the covering material on the segment and means to assemble a number of said packages and deliver them to a container, said means including a chute to move said packages into a vertical position in a rack and a reciprocating pusher to push said package into said rack from which they may be transferred to a container.

7. In a machine for segmenting plastic material, means to form said material into individual segments, means to cut, score and crimp cardboard from a roll into individual trays, said means including a rotating knife and a pair of scoring blades, a conveyor having carriers, spring clips on said carriers to engage one edge of a tray, channels in said carriers under said clips to prevent clogging thereof, means to place individual segments on an individual tray, said means including a revolving drum having chambers in its peripheral wall to receive said material and form it into segments, plungers in said chambers movable to eject said segments as said conveyor passes under said drum, a wire positioned tangential to the periphery of said drum to skim the surface of said plungers to separate the segment therefrom and means to cover each segment to form a complete package.

8. In a machine for segmenting plastic material, means to form said material into individual segments, means to cut and crimp cardboard from a roll into individual trays, said means including a rotating knife and a pair of scoring blades, a conveyor having carriers, spring clips on said carriers to engage one edge of a tray, means to place individual segments on an individual tray, said means comprising a revolving drum having chambers in its peripheral Wall to receive said material and form it into segments, plungers in said chambers movable to first draw in and then to eject said segments as said conveyor passes under said drum and means to cover each segment to form a complete package.

9. In a machine for segmenting plastic material, means to form said material into individual segments, means to cut, crimp and score cardboard from a roll into individual trays, said means including a rotating knife and a pair of scoring blades, a conveyor having carriers, means on said carriers to engage one edge of a tray, channels in said carriers under said means to prevent clogging thereof, means to place individual segments on an individual tray, said means including a revolving drum having chambers in its peripheral wall to receive said material and form it into segments, plungers in said cham- 7 bers movable to eject said segments as said conveyor passes under said drum, a wire positioned tangential to the periphery of said drum to skim the surface of said plungers to separate the segment therefrom and means to cover each segment to form a complete package.

10. In a machine for segmenting plastic material, means to form said material into individual segments, means to form said material into individual segments, means to cut and crimp cardboard from a roll into individual trays, said means including a rotating knife and a pair of scoring blades, a conveyor having carriers, means on said carriers to engage one edge of a tray, means to place individual segments on an individual tray, said means com prising a revolving drum, said drum having chambers in References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,010,523 McClatchie Aug. 6, 1935 2,653,430 Vogt Sept. 29, 1953 2,817,200 Garfunkel Dec. 24, 1957 2,851,836 Fromwiller Sept. 16, 1958 2,915,994 Wilcox Dec. 8, 1959 

1. IN A MACHINE FOR SEGMENTING PLASTIC MATERIAL AND PACKAGING THE SAME, MEANS FOR CUTTING THE MATERIAL INTO PREDETERMINED SIZE STRIPS, CONVEYOR MEANS FOR MOVING SAID STRIPS AT A PREDETERMINED RATE, MEANS FOR CUTTING AND CRIMPING CARDBOARD INTO TRAYS, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID TRAYS UNDER SAID STRIP OF MATERIAL, MEANS FOR CUTTING SAID MATERIAL INTO SEGMENTS AND DEPOSITING EACH SEGMENT UPON A TRAY, MEANS FOR COVERING SAID SEGMENTS WITH PAPER TO FORM COMPLETE PACKAGES AND MEANS TO ASSEMBLE SAID PACKAGES. 